It’s amazing how little most of us understand electricity — shocking even — especially when you stop and consider how much we depend on it as a power source…
Many of us can’t go 5 minutes without checking our smartphones, yet we don’t know the difference between AC and DC power.
I’m not saying that every survivalists need to be a certified electrician, but a functional understanding of the basics, as well as safety precautions can come in very handy.
If you have aspirations of constructing a solar backup system to sustain power throughout an emergency, it’s going to take some time and research. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to electricity, I like diagrams and illustrations… I like videos even more.
That’s why I was happy to find this video, explaining the fundamentals of how to size your solar system.
Here’s a quick and dirty, terminology refresher course you can reference while planning your system:
Volt – A volt (V) is the difference of electric potential between two points of a conductor carrying a constant current of one ampere, when the power dissipated between these points is equal to one watt.
In more practical terms, voltage is relevant to quality of power your batteries will output. The batteries you’ll be dealing with most likely be 6V or 12V batteries, which will be converted into 110V (most often) or 220V currents by your inverter.
Ohm – Ohms measure the resistance the charge faces as it moves through a conductor. A derivative of Georg Ohm’s Law is used to calculate the power available in your system (more on that later).
Amp – The constant current between two parallel conductors, equivalent to one coulomb per second.
In plain terms, amps measure the current that’s moving through a conductor. When power surges through a breaker or fuse at a current that exceeds the proper amperage, the breaker flips or the fuse burns out. This protects the appliances from being damaged by a surge in amps.
Watt – A unit of power defined as one joule per second, equal to the power in a circuit when a current of one ampere flows across a difference of one volt.
When used as a measurement (as in the nearby list of “Common Appliances”), a watt generally refers to a watt-hour (Wh). For example, a 60W incandescent light bulb consumes 60 watts per hour.
Now that we’ve covered the abstract bases, I’ll give you an analogy that will hopeful tie them together. The easiest way to remember what each of these terms actually signifies is to use a plumbing analogy: Voltage is similar to the water pressure in a pipe. Amps measure the rate of the water flowing through the pipes. Ohms are relative to the size of the fittings that the water must pass through. In this analogy, watts serve as the gallons of water used, measured by your water meter.
What are YOUR power goals, as it relates to creating a backup solar system? Share your comments below!
Just trying to get info